Imagery is "the use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/imagery), and Crane's powerful imagery is one of the reasons The Red Badge of Courage is so widely read and admired.
In your response to this post, please quote one passage from the novel which contains powerful imagery and explain what "objects, actions, or ideas" are being represented and described by that imagery.
In your response to other's posts, please make sure that you clearly and richly expand on their idea and perhaps even pose questions of your own which might further the discussion.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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“The flames bit him, and the hot smoke broiled his skin. His rifle barrel grew so hot that ordinarily he could not have borne it upon his palms; but he kept on stuffing cartridges into it, and pounding them with his clanking, bending ramrod. If he aimed at some changing form through the smoke, he pulled the trigger with a fierce grunt, as if he were dealing a blow of the fist with all his strength.” p.160
Jae Mun-
Good choice for a quotation, but what do you think it has to do with imagery?
"As he looked all about him and pondered upon the mystic gloom, he began to believe that at any moment the ominous distance might be aflare, and the rolling crashes of an engagement come to his ears. Starting once at the red eyes across the river, he concieved them to be growing larger, as the orbs of a row of dragons advancing. He turned toward the colonel and saw him lift his gigantic arm and calmly stroke his mustache. At last he heard from along the road at the foot of the hill the clatter of a horse's galloping hoofs. It must be the coming of orders. He bent forward, scarce breathing. The exciting clickety-click, as it grew louder and louder, seemed to be beating upon his soul. Presently a horseman with jangling equipment drew rein before the colonel of the regiment. The two held a short, sharp-wounded conversation. The men in the foremost ranks craned their necks. As the horseman wheeled his animal and galloped away he turned to shout over his shoulder, 'Don't forget that box of cigars!' The colonel mumbled in reply. The youth wondered what a box of cigars had to do with the war." p.16
I believe that this passage describes the fear that Henry Fleming has inside of him. Earlier in the chapter, Crane describes how insecure and isolated from the others Fleming feels, due to his fear. He feels as if he should look forward to battle, like the other soldiers, and he hopes to seek out another soldier who shares his thoughts and feelings. In this passage Crane accurately paints a picture of Henry's fear. He begins to imagine the possibilities of what could happen if a battle suddenly broke out. He pictures red eyes staring at him from across the river, belonging to "a row of dragons advancing."
When Fleming sees the colonel "lift his gigantic arm and calmly stroke his mustache" he realizes how at ease the colonel is, and realizes that he does not yet need to fear anything. He is brought back to reality by the "clatter of a horse's galloping hoofs."
When Henry hears the horseman shout "Don't forget that box of cigars!" he realizes the mentality difference between him and the other soldiers. He wonders what a box of cigars has to do with war. He then realizes that the other men are not as intimidated by the war as he is, and due to the ease that they hold, their minds can focus on matters other than the war.
For this question I could put about fifty different passages because imagery is so widely used throughout the book.
The one i liked in particular though was "A moment later the regiment went swinging off into the darkness. It was now like one of those moving monsters wending with many feet. The air was heavy and cold with dew. A mass of wet grass, marched upon like rustled silk."
" There was an occasional flash and glimmer of steel from the backs of all these huge crawling reptiles. From the road came creakings and grumblings as some surly guns were dragged away" (pg.15).
There is a huge feeling of apprehension being represented in this passage as it is when they are about to fight. Henry is scared of fighting and he has had this fear all along that he would run when it came time to fight. The imagery in this is very important because he describes the soldiers coming toward him as "huge crawling reptiles." This is a pretty frightening image.
Henry realizes that he is much more timid and nervous than the other soldiers, even the ones that had never been in battle before. This passage shows how Henry was never prepared for what the war would be like and therefore was terrified at the thought of going into battle. Herny joined thinking that he would be a hero, but he did not realize what he had to do to become one.
The passage mainly reveals Henry’s character change from coward to wildest solider in the battlefield. As Henry fires the rifle, filled with animosity against the enemy; he realizes the true character of himself, courageous and fierce solider. He fights frenetically, not noticing anything but his own rage and killing the enemy. He is so frenzied in shooting the rifle that he does not even notice when he shoots at noting at the end. Before this battle scene, he was just a coward soldier who escaped from the lethal combat in case of death. He was caught into the tale of heroism and thought he could become a hero without any sacrifice. And he considered himself as foremost, not concerning of others. However, after the scene, Henry no longer feels vanity and selfishness in him and does not consider himself as a part of machine. This change of emotion has little to do with bravery and his fear of being exposed as a fraud. Henry’s awareness of his vanity and his foolish judgment led him to become a true soldier. After the battle, Henry is able to dream a way to become a hero. As novel progresses, Henry grew fiercer by this scene.
“He was being looked at but a dead man who was seated with his back against a columnlike tree. The corps was dressed in a uniform that once had been blue, but was now faded to a melancholy shade of green. The eyes, staring at the youth, had changed to the dull hue to be seen on the side of a dead fish. The mouth was open. Its red had changed to an appalling yellow. Over the gray skin of the face ran little ants. One was trundling some sort of bundle along the upper lip” (p. 46)
I believe that this is a good passage to show imagery simply because Stephen Crane explains what the young soldier has found well running from the battle. Crone describes the color changes of the dead man, from blue to green and red to yellow, the change of the eyes, and even describes little things like the ants crawling on the body, holding the bundle as it crosses the dead mans lip. When reading the passage you can see the dead man sitting in front of you. This passage might be a little disturbing but I feel that it the imagery pops out with the descriptions. When seeing the dead man he gets even more startled then he was before, and also he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him.
The passage I chose is from early on in the book (p 33). "Absurd ideas took hold upon him. He thought that he did not relish the landscape. A coldness swept over his back, and it is true that his trousers felt to him that they were no fit for his legs at all.
A house standing placidly in distant fields had to him an ominous look. The shadows of the woods were formidable. He was certain that in this vista there lurked fierce-eyed hosts. The swift thought came to him that the generals did not know what they were about. It was all a trap. Suddenly those close forests would bristle with rifle barrels. Ironlike brigades would appear in the rear. They were all going to be sacrificed. The generals were stupid. The enemy would presently swallow the whole command. He glared about him, to see the stealthy approach of his death.
He thought that he must break from the ranks and harangue his comrades. They must not all be killed like pigs".
The powerful imagery described in this quote shows the youth's intense fear of war. Phrases such as "A coldness swept over his back", "in the vista there lurked fierce-eyed hosts" and "forests would bristle with rifle barrels" all convey to the reader the eeriness of war. "The enemy would presently swallow the whole command. He glared about him, to see the stealthy approach of his death". This imagery shows how immensely the youth fears that death is inevitable.
Paul-
I really like the quote you chose and how descriptive Crane is in describing the enemy approaching like "huge crawling reptiles". In your explanation of the quote you mentioned how scared Henry was compared to the other soldiers even the ones who had never fought before. Why do you think Henry was so scared? Not just at this point of the book but later as well even after he does get some fighting experience?
(this is a question to everyone not just you paul)
Robby-
I think that Henry is scared becuase he doubts himself. He does not believe that he possesses the strength necessary to fight in the war. Or that he has temporarily acquired it, but he is not sure how long he will be able to hold on to it. I don't think that Henry knows how long he will be able to last in the war; in the beginning of the book he did not think that he would last for one moment and despite the maturation that he has gone through thus far, like many people he still holds some measure of self doubt.
Robby/Brie-
I agree on your passage and all the imagery shown in the passage. I also think that Brie is totally right about the passage. Henry is sacred of the war at that moment and is thinking he did the wrong thing by joining the army.
"Under foot there were a few ghastly forms motionless. They lay twisted in fantastic contortions. Arms were bent and heads were turned in incredible ways. It seemed that the dead men must have fallen from some great height to get into such positions. They looked to be dumped out upon the ground from the sky."(pg.37)
A main theme of the book is Henry dealing with the terrors of war and not fleeing, this passage vividly describes some of those terrors. This passage describes the casualties of the firefight in a grimacing fashion as Henry looks over them. Henry is looking at the results of the war and through the imagery the author is able to portray to the reader that the results really aren't pretty. This allows the readers to better connect with and understand Henry’s struggle against the terrors of war.
Jbang- I like your quote and think it is a fine example of the great imagery the author uses throughout the book for firefights in particular. The firefights are very intense scenes in the book so I think the author does a great job of using imagery to represent them as so like in your passage.
Sean-
I think that your quote relatively shows the fear that Henry has. Not only does it explain to the reader how horrific the sight was, but it helps the reader enision the sight from Henry's point of view.
[adding to my previous comment]
Sean- I think that this is one of many, many passages in the book that help the reader get into Henry's head and understand what he is thinking.
"He wished, without reserve, that he was at home again making the endless rounds from the house to the barn, from the barn to the fields, from the fields to the barn, from the barn to the house. He remembered he had so often cursed the brindle cow and her mates, and had sometimes flung milking stools. But, from his present point of view, there was a halo of happiness about each of their heads, and he would have sacrificed all the brass buttons on the continent to have been enabled to return to them. He told himself that he was not formed for a soldier. And he mused seriously upon the radical differences between himself and those men who were dodging implike around the fires." pg. 21
I can choose this because it describes the situation and feeling of Henry has a nostalgia for his home. He thinks that he is seperated from others because he feels that he is the only person who has a fear. Henry suddenly starts having sympathy and misses his home where is peaceful, monotonous, and comfortable. This works important role because he struggles with the problem of nostalgia and fear of the war but later he changes his attitude.
Sam
Your quote is good example that describes Henry’s fear. It sounds similar to mine because Henry still has a fear and wants to run away something. However, I think that your quote is more specific about his countenance like eyes of dead fish.
Minsoo/Sam-
I agree with Misoo's thouguht that Sam's quote shows Henry's fear. I also think that Henry might have felt some guiltiness when he saw dead soldier's body. And that could have morally convinced Henry that escaping from the bettlefield is wrong.
“A shell screaming like a storms banshee went over the huddled heads of the reserves. It landed in the grove, and exploding redly flung the brown earth. There was a little shower of pine needles. Bullets began to whistle among the branches and nip at the trees, Twigs and leaves came sailing down. It was as if a thousand axes, wee and invisible, were being wielded.” (pg 32)
This particular passage really hit me hard with its intensity and its vivid descriptions. I can picture the little troops in the forest huddling and cowering beneath the flying debris of leaves and tree parts. To me this was very important also because, this was some of the first actual battle action for many of the men in the army. The scene was described as if the writer were in a state of shock and just taking in everything of battle.
Sean- I liked how your passage was more of a battle aftermath and the overwhelming feeling that comes after a battle. The vividness of it all is powerful in a sense that it makes you cringe when you read the selection, “Arms were bent and heads were turned in incredible ways. It seemed that the dead men must have fallen from some great height to get into such positions”. I think you made a very good choice and description of this passage.
"The day had grown more white, until the sun shed his full radiance upon the thronged forest. A sort of a gust of battle came sweeping toward that part of the line where lay the youth's regiment. The front shifted a trifle to meet it squarely. There was a wait. In this part of the field there passed slowly the intense moments that precede the tempest." (page 78)
This quote supports Crane's use of imagery. Right from the start he showed the idea of the day becoming brighter; "The day had grown more white,.." The objects he describes on page 78 are the sun and forest. "A sort of a gust of battle came sweeping toward that part of the line..".
Robby- ditto to liking Paul's quote. Also to answer your question; I believe Henry was a mixture of scared and selfish. He was scared of the embarrassment and scared of the given; dieing. Henry was selfish because, I feel as though, he gave up for the wrong reasons and only to protect himself. I realize it is a time of war and no one wants to die but if it is something you stand for wouldn't you risk it?
"He suddenly lost concern for himself, and forgot to look at a menacing fate. He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part-a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country-was in a crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire. For some moments he could not flee, no more than a little finger can commit a revolution from a hand." P.38
This is the feeling of the Youth’s, or Henry’s mood after his first gunshot. After the gunshot, everything went crazy and he could not resist it. He felt very shocked and wanted to escape before the first gunshot of his. However, after it, he just felt that he had to take care of the rest of the battle. He was very afraid that he had to do be in the battlefield, which he thought that there was no hope of being survived after the battle.
Sean
I also agree with your quote.
I believe mine is similar to yours that Henry was feared of fighting in the battlefield. And I think your quote is one of the important ones in the book.
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